On October 21, 2026, the OCC issued a final rule implementing the GENIUS Act. The rule establishes requirements governing payment stablecoin issuance and related activities by entities subject to OCC oversight, including banks, nonbank issuers, certain state-qualified issuers, and foreign issuers. The rule takes effect January 18, 2027.
The final rule follows the OCC's February 2026 proposal and establishes a supervisory framework addressing reserve assets, redemption, risk management, custody, licensing, and capital requirements. The OCC adopted several changes in response to public comments. Specifically, the final rule:
- Establishes reserve requirements. Issuers must maintain identifiable, segregated reserve assets sufficient to back outstanding payment stablecoins on a 1:1 basis. The rule reduces the proposed minimum daily liquidity requirement from 10% to 5% of reserve assets while retaining diversification and concentration requirements.
- Revises redemption requirements. Issuers generally must process redemptions within two business days. The OCC eliminated the proposed automatic seven-day extension triggered by large redemption requests. Instead, issuers must notify the OCC when redemption requests exceed 10% of a stablecoin brand's outstanding value within 24 hours and may request an extension.
- Modifies the yield prohibition. Issuers remain prohibited from paying interest or yield solely for holding, using, or retaining payment stablecoins. However, the OCC eliminated the proposed rebuttable presumption concerning certain payments involving affiliates and related third parties, opting instead for case-by-case supervisory review.
- Establishes capital requirements. The rule adopts a $5 million minimum capital floor for newly approved issuers and extends that floor beyond the initial supervisory period. Issuers must also maintain a separate operational backstop generally equal to 12 months of expenses.
- Implements supervisory requirements. The rule establishes licensing, reporting, audit, custody, and risk management standards, including requirements applicable to certain foreign issuers and state-qualified issuers transitioning to federal oversight.
The OCC will address Bank Secrecy Act, anti-money laundering, and sanctions requirements through separate rulemaking.
Putting It Into Practice: The final rule advances the federal stablecoin regulatory framework (previously discussed here) Notably, the OCC's changes to redemption requirements and the yield prohibition provide additional flexibility while retaining supervisory oversight. Banks, stablecoin issuers, and other affected market participants should evaluate their reserve management, redemption procedures, capital arrangements, and compliance frameworks ahead of the January 2027 effective date. Market participants should also monitor forthcoming BSA/AML regulations and additional OCC guidance as implementation progresses.